A McDonald’s manager in Oklahoma sexually harassed a 17-year-old staffer until she had no choice but to quit, a federal agency claimed in lawsuit filed against Golden Arches franchisee Arch Fellows.
The underage “crew member” — identified only as “DBE” in court documents obtained by The Post — reported to 26-year-old department manager Mikel Boone.
During shifts at a McDonald’s in Checotah, Okla., Boone made “sexual comments,” including asking if the teenager were a stripper and telling her “he could ‘still make good use of her body’ if the fryers exploded,” according to the lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Oklahoma federal court last month.
Boone made a particularly disturbing comment between October 2020 and November 2021, when he “grabbed DBE by the waist and said, ‘You should be careful getting yourself alone with me, I might rape you,’” according to the filing.
The teenager, who was “stunned and in shock,” repeatedly told him to stop and rushed out, per the EEOC.
In other instances, Boone said DBE was “getting him in trouble with his wife” and often called female staffers “gorgeous.”
The young woman informed her manager that she refused to show up for her shift because of how uncomfortable she felt around Boone.
However, DBE’s schedule was not changed, and she was forced to work at the same time as the man she grew to fear.
It wasn’t until six days after the incident that a supervisor of the McDonald’s outpost’s operator, Arch Fellow, went to the restaurant to probe Boone and DBE.
Arch Fellow’s representative, Gail Chirnside, had DBE sign a harassment complaint form, and told her to keep the situation “as quiet as possible,” the EEOC claimed in the court filing.
When the investigation closed the following day, Boone was simply issues a “final warning” Disciplinary Action Form “for discussing the subject of rape with a minor employee,” the federal agency noted.
DBE felt the move put “her safety at risk,” and because she would otherwise have to keep working under Boone’s supervision, she felt she had no choice but to resign in mid-November 2021.
“DBE was forced to give her resignation directly to Boone because he was the only manager on duty when she arrived at the restaurant to submit her resignation,” the lawsuit said.
The EEOC requests financial damages and backpay from Arch Fellow, according to the lawsuit.
“Young victims may lack the self-confidence to challenge unwelcome conduct, and they can be susceptible to being taken advantage of by older workers. Employers have a responsibility to protect these young employees from unlawful harassment,” regional EEOC director Andrea G. Baran said in a press release on the case.
An Arch Fellows spokesperson told The Post: “Nothing is more important than providing a safe and respectful workplace for our employees. These allegations are not a reflection of the values that we instill in and expect all our employees to uphold, and we’re continuing to investigate all the facts surrounding this.”
“We are fully committed to fostering a culture of care for our entire organization — including policies aimed at preventing harassment, discrimination and retaliation and an open-door approach for reporting concerns, which we take very seriously,” the spokesperson added.
Representatives for McDonald’s did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
